ELECTIONS: 1949

We had a full ballot for the first time, with all 20 members casting votes.

We took the top three vote getters for the Honoured Players category, and held firm on the 75% rule for the other categories. We had a tie for third, so we elected four members. Some of our committee wondered quite loudly if we were inducting too many people too early. Other committee members voiced concerns that we were not electing enough members.

"Coming into the last three ballots, I had Fred Waghorne pencilled in as a referee. He had 14 votes. He finished with 14 votes. This was a strange election. After 10 ballots, Ebbie Goodfellow was leading Eddie Shore," said Chair Morey Holzman.
Joe Pellietier was ecstatic with the results.

"I couldn't be more pleased with the results of this election, as Boucher, Goodfellow and Smith are all personal favorites. Shore was a no brainer," Pelletier said.

Our other Joe, Joseph Nieforth, was less than thrilled that Harry "Hap" Holmes was dropped from the ballot due to lack of support.

"I am truly surprised that Harry Holmes was dropped from the ballot. He only backstopped four Stanley Cup winners and appeared in the undecided 1919 series," Nieforth said.

Tommy Gorman and Fred Waghorne finished with fourteen votes, instead of the require fifteen. Under a weighted system, they probably would have been elected. Instead, they would have to wait at least one more year.

The class of 1949:

HONOURED MEMBERS:

Here is how the final voting went: